


Laughter Lines

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-13
Updated: 2013-12-13
Packaged: 2018-01-05 08:11:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1091612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a day off and Marco wanted to show Jean something.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Laughter Lines

It was a day off.

With such rigorous training day and night, everyone naturally reveled in the chance to get out of the camp and explore the world outside of it, having usually not seen it for months at a time and gazing in admiration at how much, and how little, everything changed during their months of isolation. Sometimes the leaves were green, others they were yellow and red and gold, and sometimes there were none at all. It was easy to lose track of the seasons beyond that when the only practice among trees included evergreens. 

This time it appeared to be early spring. 

Marco Bott had Jean Kirstein’s wrist firmly clasped in his hand as he dragged the younger man up a small hill. Ever since the day off had been announced the previous night, Marco had told his best friend about a certain location he had always visited as a kid with his mother. Jean had initially laughed at this, thinking Marco was just joking around, but had quickly turned around and apologized profusely when he had seen the hurt expression on that young freckled face. Of course, this hadn’t changed Marco’s decision to bring his friend up here, regardless of the first reaction he had gotten.

Breathing heavily, Jean stumbled a bit under the sheer speed he was being dragged at, wondering how Marco was still going at a ridiculously fast pace. Sometimes he had to tug backwards just to get him to slow down slightly so he could maybe attempt to catch his breath. However, after about the twentieth attempt to actually get a stop out of Marco, he was met with an equal tug forwards.

“We’re almost there, stop struggling!” Jean glared up at the freckled man child grinning down at him, and wrenched his arm free and stalked the rest of the way up the hill on his own, with Marco giggling behind him. 

When he reached the hilltop, he was met with more of the same as it was up the side – nothing but grass and a stump near the middle. Looking around, he folded his arms across his chest and pouted slightly.

“Marco, no offense, but I –“ He stopped mid sentence as Marco shuffled past him and stopped, the grin falling from his face in the course of a few seconds.

“I-it’s not here?” Jean stared at him eccentrically, stuffing his hands in his pockets for lack of anything better to do. He had no idea what Marco was on about. He hadn’t exactly been given any details about the place aside from the fact it seemed to be very memorable to him.

“What’s not here?” He tried.

“Uhm… I know it’s n-nothing but,” Marco stopped and took a deep breath that made his shoulders roll up and back. Jean didn’t have to see his face to know he was fighting back tears. “T-there was an old oak tree here… my mom used to sit me under it and tell me stories… I guess it just became a large part of my childhood is all.”

Jean frowned slightly and crossed the small gap from him to Marco, reaching forward and grasping his hand tightly without even thinking about it. Marco started at the sudden touch, but relaxed and held on after a few moments, bringing his free hand to wipe the stray tears from his face. Jean smiled reassuringly and dragged Marco towards the stump, crouching down on his knees beside it and running a hand through the dirt covering the roots.

“Tell me a story, Marco.” Marco stared incredulously for a moment, but sighed and nodded, crouching beside Jean and resting his head on his shoulder. 

“Once upon a time…”

“Don’t start it like that, man. How cliché can you get here?”

“Jean!”

“Sorry, sorry. Continue.” Marco smiled.

“Once upon a time there was a young soldier named…”

Jean awoke some time later, his head resting in the open lap of Marco, who had also seemed to succumb to sleep, because his head was down and breathing slow, his hand resting where it had finally stopped running through Jean’s hair. It was astonishing to Jean. A few shared moments together had changed their friendship into… a relationship? He wasn’t sure if that was the right word to describe whatever this was. No matter, though. Jean was happy and he was sure Marco was too. He smiled to himself and guessed the time to be about mid afternoon judging by the sun’s position in the sky. They would have to head back soon, though of course there was no hurry.

Pushing himself up to his elbows, Jean gently woke Marco with a small nudge on his arm, hardly containing his giggle as Marco woke up with a strange snort that was probably a beginning snore. Humming to himself, Marco rubbed the sleep from his eyes with the back of his hand, dropping it just in time to see Jean leaning in towards him. Marco didn’t have time to process what was happening before he felt the soft lips meet his own, eyes widening at the unanticipated situation. But, he didn’t pull away, and instead brought his hands up to cup Jean’s face and pull him in closer for a moment, before he snaked his arms around his neck. Jean responded to the wanted intimacy by wrapping his arms around Marco’s waist, falling into the other man quite carelessly, though not entirely ineptly or interruptive.

**Author's Note:**

> This was an art trade with my lovely friend Kodex. uwu  
> Slightly inspired by the song Laughter Lines by Bastille.


End file.
